A Rebel fighter aims his weapon during fighting against Syrian government forces on September 19, 2013 in the Saif al-Dawla district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP Photo/JM Lopez) / AFP

The Syrian opposition’s refusal to attend the peace conference in Geneva is a result of the desire of its foreign sponsors to thwart the peace process, claims the head of State Duma’s Foreign Relations Committee.

“The Syrian Opposition lacks independence. It totally depends
on external support. All its steps are backed with interests and
calculations of its foreign sponsors,” Aleksey Pushkov
tweeted on Monday.

He also stated that several countries were hoping to thwart the
Geneva-2 summit, naming this as the main reason behind the
refusal of the Syrian National Council to participate in this
meeting.

“There will be more such attempts,” Pushkov wrote.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US
Secretary of State John Kerry, the Geneva-2 summit, co-sponsored
by Russia and the USA, is currently preliminarily scheduled for
mid-November. The final date will be determined soon in
consultations with the UN Security Council and the League of Arab
States.

On Sunday the head of one Syrian National Council (SNC) George
Sabra told reporters that his group would not attend the Geneva-2
talks, adding that any talks were possible only after the removal
of President Bashar Assad and his government. Moreover, the SNC
leader promised to sever the alliances with any other opposition
groups if they decide to take part in Geneva-2 pace conference.

In late September the president of the broad National Coalition
for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Ahmad Jarba,
claimed in the letter to the leaders of the United Nations that
his group had decided to participate in the Geneva talks on the
condition that other parties agree to transfer the power in the
country to a provisional government with full executive powers.

The UN, Russia and the US have earlier backed the transitional
government plan, but there is still no agreement on whether or
not President Assad should stay in power.